"You know, I think that Dick Holland was one of the most generous people in our community I've ever known," said Penny Parker, executive director of Completely Kids.

Holland and his late wife, Mary Holland, gave Omaha the new performing arts center, and numerous other gifts.

He first became a success in the advertising business, a trade he learned from his father. It was "Holland the Advertiser" who renamed the Valley manufacturing Valmont. He also introduced Charlie Munger to Warren Buffett, the two pillars of Berkshire Hathaway.

In 1962, long before Buffett was known as the Oracle, Holland and his wife invested in one of Buffett's original partnerships, and their friendship lasted half a century.

Buffett turned Hollands' relatively small investment into a fortune that Holland worked hard to give back to Omaha.

KETV Newswatch 7 spoke with Dick and Mary Holland in 2005, just days before the Holland Performing Arts Center opened. He praised the building's design.

“It’s amazing how beauty comes from being so simple. How you could have over-dressed it and done a number of things to ruin that idea, and they didn't," Dick Holland said.

Their multimillion dollar donation helped build the state-of-the-art facility In his memoir, Holland wrote he and his wife Mary agreed to donate whatever was necessary when the project was proposed.

Before the project was finished, they donated more than originally promised.

"His contributions were of course philanthropic, but his contributions were also equally important in that they were visionary," said Dr. Jeffrey Gold, Chancellor of University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“There's a whole history to be built that happens after you do something like this," Dick Holland said.

The Hollands didn't know the facility would bear their name until it was almost finished. Dick Holland said it didn't take a lot of persuasion to get them to buy into the idea.

"I've got an ego that stretches from Omaha to the Panama Canal," Dick Holland wrote.

Dick and Mary Holland met in 1946, shortly after returning from World War II, and their marriage lasted 58 years.

Mary Holland died in 2006, just months after the performing arts center opened.

“All the things we do make us wish we had lots longer to live, because there is so much to do," Mary Holland said.

Dick Holland put his passion and power behind scores of causes; among them: Building Bright Futures, a local program that's boosting education for Omaha's disadvantaged children.

"To take these kind of steps and to get everybody in the city practically to cooperate in doing it -- we can just look forward to a better outcome for school children," Dick Holland said.

The Child Saving Institute Campus is named in Mary Holland's honor.

"Dick's always going to be remembered for his warmth, his sense of humor, his fierce intellect and most especially what he did for our community," said Joan Squires, president of Omaha Performing Arts.

The Hollands' donations and dedications transformed the facility that cares for neglected children.

“Our father was a wise, kind, generous man with a marvelous sense of humor and wit. He was a wonderful father and grandfather. We will all deeply miss him,” his family said following his death.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Nebraska, Partnership for Our Kids, and numerous other groups have benefited from the Holland's generosity.

Again in his memoir, Dick Holland wrote, "We were incredibly lucky people with a fortune (literally) to make a difference. In some ways we both felt that we were doing what we ought to do."

"If you've had the good fortune to earn a fortune, share it generously with others. There's no better feeling in the world than helping out where there's a real human need," Dick Holland said.

"He was a wonderful friend and partner for 60 years and an outstanding citizen both in respect to local and national activities," Warren Buffett said.

“Dick will be remembered for his warmth, sense of humor, fierce intelligence and curiosity, and most of all, for his profound impact on our community. A generous philanthropist, his unwavering passion to make life better – from the arts to the education of children – was exemplary. He was a dear personal friend and I will miss him deeply” said Joan Squires, Omaha Performing Arts President.

"Dick Holland was a champion for the causes he believed in, children, education, medical advancements and the arts. Omaha is the fortunate beneficiary of his generosity and passion for our city. To his family and friends, we send our sympathy," Mayor Jean Stothert.

"Dick Holland was an amazing citizen of our city. He helped so many and enriched the lives of us all. Rest in peace Dick," Congressman Brad Ashford wrote on Facebook.